Number of flu cases drops

A flu epidemic which reached its peak roughly a fortnight ago has continued
to recede, with the number of those ill falling by 12 percent to 1,638
cases per 100,000 people. At the same time, all regions of the country are
still affected, the Nation Reference Laboratory revealed on Monday. In some
regions the numbers have dropped by a third. Spring break at the
country’s schools, which rotate based on area, are seen as having curbed
the further spread of the flu, but experts warn cases may again rise after
children return to the classroom.

Poll: 50 percent of Czechs think relations with Russia have worsened

A new poll released by the CVVM agency suggests that 50 percent of Czechs
think that ties between the Czech Republic and Russia have worsened. The
number grew from 41 percent in January. According to pollsters, Russia’s
intervention in Ukraine, including the annexation of Crimea, contributed to
the results. The current numbers are similar to those recorded in 2008,
during the conflict between Russia and Georgia. Then, ties were also
influenced by US plans for a missile defence shield in Europe proposed by
the Bush administration, which counted on interceptor rockets in Poland and
a radar detection system in Brdy in the Czech Republic.

PORG founder to open unconventional elementary school in Prague

The founder of Prague’s prestigious PORG secondary school, Ondřej
Šteffl, is planning to open an unconventional elementary school in the
city at the start of the next academic year, iDnes.cz reported. The new
school will not teach children and will not award grades, with teachers
serving as “guides” to mixed-age groups of around 16 the news site
said. Mr. Šteffl denies that the school will be experimental, saying the
method has been tested in other countries. Václav Klaus Jr., a former PORG
principal and proponent of traditional education, says the opening of the
school is a marketing manoeuvre.

Average Czech man today gets married eight years later than in 1989

The average Czech man gets married for the first time at the age of 32,
eight years later than at the time of the Velvet Revolution, Novinky.cz
reported, quoting a study from the Czech Statistics Office. For women the
average age of first marriage is 30, seven years later than in 1989, the
news site said. The study suggests that if present trends continue only
around half of Czech men will get hitched before they reach 50. While
two-thirds of Czechs were married at 25 at the start of the 1990s, today
most are unwed when they reach a quarter century.

Kadlec scores twice on return to Sparta

Václav Kadlec scored twice on his return to Sparta Prague, helping the
defending Czech soccer league champions come from behind to beat Příbram
4:1 in the capital on Monday evening. Kadlec, who is 22, was recently
loaned to Sparta by Eintracht Frankfurt after failing to make a lasting
impact at the Bundesliga side despite a promising start. The striker found
the net after coming on as a substitute near the hour mark.

Dawn leaders’ vote to create new party “putsch”, says head Okamura

The populist Dawn grouping has decided at a “national” conference to
create a new party. Speaking after a two-hour meeting on Tuesday, leader
Tomio Okamura described the move as a putsch. The Dawn MPs who voted for
the change called on Mr. Okamura to step down. MPs close to deputies group
leader Marek Černoch recently said the new party would “defend national
interests” and work with France’s far-right National Front. Dawn
describes itself as a “movement” and has very few actual members.

MPs against allowing police to investigate former Prague mayor over breach
of trust

MPs do not want to lift the parliamentary immunity of former Prague mayor
Bohuslav Svoboda over charges of breach of trust due to negligence. The
police want to investigate Mr. Svoboda over a contract he signed with a
lawyer for an analysis of suspicious contracts at Prague’s transport
authority without consulting other councillors. However, on Tuesday the
lower house’s Mandate and Immunity Committee said it would recommend that
deputies reject their request. MPs have already lifted Mr. Svoboda’s
immunity in connection with an investigation into the Opencard, an
electronic card system for transport and other services.

Zeman to appoint Pelikán justice minister in second week of March

President Miloš Zeman will appoint Robert Pelikán as minister of justice
in the second week of next month, the latter said after a meeting with the
head of state at Prague Castle on Tuesday. The ANO candidate, who has up to
now been first deputy minister of justice will replace Helena Valková, who
presented her resignation letter to Mr. Zeman on Tuesday. Mr. Pelikán, who
is in his mid 30s, is the son of a European Union Court of Justice judge
and a law professor.

The Czech prime minister, Bohuslav Sobotka, says he that like most Czech
citizens he has been shocked by the tragic shooting incident on Tuesday.
Mr. Sobotka said he offered his deepest condolences to the families of
victims. He also called on the minister of justice, Milan Chovanec, to
personally oversee the police investigation into the event. For his part
Mr. Chovanec said the shooting had not been an act of terrorism but the act
of one deranged individual. President Miloš Zeman also expressed his
condolences.

Eight dead after shooting incident at Czech pub

Eight people were killed in a shooting incident at a pub in the town of
Uherský brod in Eastern Moravia on Tuesday afternoon, Czech Television
reported, quoting information from the minister of the interior, Milan
Chovanec. Seven of the victims were men, the other a woman. The shooter,
who is reported to have fired off around two dozen rounds, is also dead,
reportedly after turning his weapon on himself. The mayor of Uherský brod,
Patrik Kunčar, told Czech Television that the killer, who may have been
carrying two weapons, was a local man aged 62 with apparent mental
problems. Prima TV said a man had contacted its crime reporters shortly
before the incident telling them to send a team to Uherský brod and
claiming that many people had bullied him and he had received no help from
the local authorities; a Prime reporter passed the information on to the
police. A man who was in the toilets in the Družba pub when the shooting
took place at around lunchtime said around 20 people had been on the
premises. One woman has been taken to hospital with shooting injuries.